The Editorial Team |

The Problem With Diamonds Is They Keep Getting Cheaper

LAGOS(Capital Markets in Africa) – Americans are buying more diamond jewelry than ever before, but prices for most polished gems are falling. Five years ago, the diamond industry’s biggest worry was being forgotten by millennials, who — the theory went — didn’t covet sparkly gems the way their parents had. The concern turned out to be mostly unfounded, but the reality is almost worse. While Americans are buying more diamond jewelry than ever before, most polished…

Pirates Thriving Off West Africa Show Disunity, Togo Leader Says

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – West African states’ failure to coordinate their response to piracy off their coastline is the main reason attacks are persisting, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe said. Seaborne assailants boarded two vessels off the coast of Togo and neighboring Benin earlier this month, the latest in a series of attacks in the world’s worst piracy hotspot in the Gulf of Guinea that stretches from Senegal to Angola. While the 15 states and western…

U.K. Lawmaker Hain Rebukes Banks at South African Graft Probe

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – U.K. lawmaker Peter Hain accused international banks including HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc of aiding and abetting graft in South Africa during former President Jacob Zuma’s rule and earning considerable fees in the process. The lenders enabled members of the Gupta family, who were Zuma’s allies and in business with his son, to launder stolen funds and remove them from South Africa by allowing them to open accounts and granting…

South Africa Junk Spiral May Deepen; S&P Set to Cut Outlook

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa could move deeper into junk territory as the nation looks set to lose the only stable outlook on its credit ratings this week. Of the 22 economists in a Bloomberg survey, 16 expect S&P Global Ratings to change its outlook on the country’s credit rating to negative on Friday. That means the next move from the company, which already assesses South Africa’s foreign-currency debt at two levels below…

Prince Andrew Bombs in BBC Interview, Creating PR Disaster

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Prince Andrew’s attempt to explain away his friendship with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein in a high-profile TV interview degenerated into a farce that threatens to be the British royal family’s biggest public relations disaster since its handling of the death of Princess Diana in 1997. #PrinceAndrew trended high on Twitter as Saturday’s hour-long interview with the BBC began airing on prime-time British TV. Interviewed by Newsnight host Emily Maitlis…

London Office Landlords Can’t Believe How Good Things Are

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – London’s office landlords keep being surprised that things aren’t a lot worse. Demand for office space in the U.K. capital is holding up even as political uncertainty persists in a nation gripped by its decision to leave the European Union. Businesses have continued to lease space despite the prospect of a general election that’s pitted the Brexit-backing Conservative party against a Labour opposition that’s committed to a radical policy program that…

Impeachment Probe Turns to Trump Ally at Heart of Ukraine Storm

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – After weeks of Republican complaints that the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry relied on secondhand information, the centerpiece of this week’s public hearings is testimony from a man with a direct line to President Donald Trump. The political peril for Trump, who was dealt a series of setbacks last week, will be heightened as the House investigation accelerates with three days of public hearings starting Tuesday. No witness is more central…

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